Wednesday 8 December 2010

My Georgette Heyer Challenge 2011

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It is about a year ago that I discovered the Queen of regency romances, Georgette Heyer and despite loving the first book I read of hers, I have so far only read 3 (Arabella, The Grand Sophy and Cotillion). The reason for this is I have to pay to order her books into my local library because they are classified in the 'adult' section. So, I thought why not hold a 2011 challenge here to introduce other people to the marvellous world of Heyer too? And the Georgette Heyer challenge 2011 is now born......

About Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer is the creator of the regency romance genre and truly brings Regency England to life with : (as described by GeorgetteHeyer.com)  romance, fashion, upper classes, cross-dressing, arranged marriages, murder, intrigue, sarcasm and humour!   From what I have read, her heroines and  handsome heroes are all very likable and well developed characters that make me laugh.
I also love Heyer because her romances are clean unlike most other historical fiction/ regency books, so I am able to read them!

A short Heyer biography from Austen Prose:

Born August 16, 1902 in Wimbledon near London, Georgette Heyer’s writing career began in 1921 at the age of nineteen with the publication of The Black Moth, a story originally written in serial format to amuse her younger brother. It was a romantic comedy set in the mid eighteenth-century and involved many of the elements that would later become her trademark: money, marriage and social machinations of the English Aristocrats and gentry.
Best known for her twenty-six Regency-era romance novels (1811-1820), she is often linked to Jane Austen. Although their styles are similar in basic concept, Austen wrote contemporary novels with little physical descriptions and Heyer wrote historical novels with detailed physical description for a contemporary audience.

The Challenge
Have you read any of Georgette Heyer's books before and enjoyed them?
Are you an inquisitive Georgette Heyer newbie who fancies something new?
Or you already a devoted Heyer fan?

Then this challenge is for you!

You can choose from any of the following levels:

1) Inquisitive- read 1-3 GH novels in 2011

2) Fascinated- Read 5 GH novels in 2011

3) Captivated- Read 10 GH novels in 2011

4) Obsessed- Read 15 GH novels in 2011

5) Addicted- Read 15+ GH novels in 2011

Rules
  • The challenge runs from 1st January 2011 and ends 31st December 2011. You can join at any time within these dates
  • Anyone can participate
  • Any of Heyer's novels count for the challenge whether they are regency, crime or thriller (however, most of her books are regencies.) Here is a full list of her novels.
To sign up fill in this form with your details- be prepared to fall in love with the world of regency England :



I think that I am going to aim to read about 6 Georgette Heyer books in 2011 so I pick the fascinated level. It doesn't sound like much but I think that with so many other books on my shelves that need to be read and the fact that I am having less time to read recently,  it is a sensible number. I have yet to pick which of her books I will read though.

I am looking forward to seeing how this, the 2nd 2011 challenge I am hosting goes and reading participants reviews. I am hoping to have some guest posts throughout the year from Heyer fans. If you would like to write a guest on a topic to do with Heyer, please drop me an email at stephanie (dot) reads (at) hotmail (dot) co (uk)  .

4 comments:

  1. Never heard of her before. I might try the lowest level, just to try her. A change from Austen.

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  2. Great idea for a challenge. I scheduled my post and link to come up this morning. I'm looking forward to some fun reading in 2011!

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  3. The 'captivated' challenge sounds good to me--I think I can find 10 GH books I haven't read before. :)

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  4. I'm a long time fan of Georgette Heyer, but I've only read her romances, not her mysteries. So I've signed up to read five Heyer mysteries this year.

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I try my best to reply here or on your blog :)

Stephanie x